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February 7, 2018

For the 34th year in a row, a selection of balls has decided the content of the Vancouver Fringe Festival. That’s right. Balls… lottery balls!

Fringe Bar Manager Ian Wardle drawing the final balls of the night. Photo by Bruce McPherson.

PTC's Kathleen Flaherty presenting Sara Vickruck with the Fringe New Play Prize. Photo by Bruce McPherson.

James Melcher winning a spot in the 2018 Fringe! Photo by Bruce McPherson.

Travis Bernhardt (right) magically made these Rubik’s Cubes match after Fringe Board Member Leslie Carty (left) mixed one up behind her back! Photo by Bruce McPherson.

Joylyn Secunda's The Moaning Yoni and a very interesting kiss. Photo by Bruce McPherson.

On Tuesday, January 30, our illustrious MC, Vixn Przybysz (the Fringe’s “Dispatch Queen”) welcomed Fringe fans to Studio 1398 on Granville Island to draw all the balls, aka Mainstage artists. Before drawing any balls, the Fringe’s Executive Director, Laura Efron, explained that the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals conducts their own Lottery—and those winners select a minimum of five Fringes to tour to during the 2018 season. Ten artists chose Vancouver, including Red Bastard! Check out the whole list here.

We kicked off the ball draw with the International category. Paco Erhard, who was part of the 2017 Fringe with 5-Step Guide to Being German, will be coming back. And we’re looking forward to welcoming Saye Theatre from Iran to their first Vancouver Fringe.

Before drawing from the Provincial category, we drew from a very large bin of 2017 activated Memberships. A special thanks to all the volunteers who have diligently been entering Memberships into our database. They finished up just in time for the party! Our lucky winner, Lauren Sommer will receive a Super Pass for the 2018 Fringe! Lauren let us know that she stumbled across the Festival last year while on holiday from Alaska and she’ll be back again to take advantage of her prize.

Playwrights Theatre Centre’s Kathleen Flaherty introduced the 2018 Fringe New Play Prize winning show, Poly Queer Love Ballad, and one half of the team behind the show, Sara Vickruck (the other being Anais West who was celebrating her birthday). The winners receive dramaturgical support and a guaranteed spot at the 2018 Fringe! Sara performed two songs from the show, one of which hilariously summed up queer flirtation on Commercial Drive.

Finally, we drew the Provincial category artists! Sadly, only one local artist was in the room when his name was announced… James Melcher! You may recognize James as a regular Fringe volunteer or from his 2012 site-specific show, My Marvelous Melcher Machine. James was overwhelmed with his win, dropping to the floor in excitement. He’ll be putting on a one-man musical this September. Other local winners include District 13 Presents of The Hunger Games Musical Trilogy, who will be putting on Die Hard: the Musical, Vancouver Puppet Theatre known for their kids’ shows, Diana Bang with SELF-ish, about “first-generation Korean immigrant parents and their ‘ne’er-do-well’ and ‘intelligent but unfulfilled’ daughter” (Mooney on Theatre), and La Palabra en el Tiempo, a literary flamenco collaboration. To see the list of accepted and waitlisted artists, visit our website.

We want to give a special shout out to Green Thumb Theatre for providing rental space as a prize for winning Fringe artists, to Travis Bernhardt for a short performance involving a pair of Rubik’s Cubes and more than a few “how’d he do that” moments, as well as to Joylyn Secunda who performed a scene from The Moaning Yoni, showing us a multitude of kissing styles.

Thanks to Granville Island Brewing the 2018 Lottery Party was fully stocked! Brewed across the street from Studio 1398, Granville Island beers made a perfect pairing for finding out who would be performing at the Festival this September!

Be sure to visit Granville Island Brewing the next time you’re on the Island, or make a special trip for some fun events to brighten up your February! Starting tonight and for the rest of the month Full Pint Comedy takes over the taproom every Tuesday starting at 7:00pm! And on February 22 it’s Taproom Trivia from 7:30-10:30pm. Follow Granville Island Brewing on Facebook for details and to find out what’s hopping! #BeerPuns

So maybe you missed the Mainstage application deadline! Or you applied to be a Fringe artist and you’re way down on the waitlist. Well don’t you worry! There are still a few ways to put on a Fringe show:

Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) The Fringe negotiates with “pre-approved” venues to keep artists’ rental costs and the Fringe’s administrative capacity manageable. If you apply to one of these venues and they accept you, we’ll accept you too! Read the details and apply to pre-approved venues now! Don’t forget, apply to the venue first, and to the Fringe after the venue has accepted you!

Site-Specific Site-Specific shows must be created for their space and may not take place in a traditional theatre. We’ve had shows on fire escapes, in the back seat of a car, in a back yard, and in a duck pond. All these shows related to the space they were in. Have an idea for a site-specific show? Is your potential site within walking distance of Granville Island or Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive? Contact us with your idea! Starting February 12, we’ll start accepting inquiries for site-specific shows. For more information, visit our website.

Affair of Honor produced Qui Nguyen’s Soul Samurai as part of the Dramatic Works Series in 2017.

Dramatic Works Series Want to produce a previously published dramatic script with two or more actors? Then the Dramatic Works Series, generously supported by the Lochmaddy Foundation, is for you! The Fringe will subsidize royalty costs up to $200. We’ll be accepting applications as of February 12. Check here for details.

Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women Are you a woman playwright with a new script? Ruby Slippers Theatre selects five works that are showcased as dramatic readings during the Fringe! Submissions are due February 15. Check out Ruby Slippers’ website for more information and to submit your play.

This February take your Fringe Love to new heights! Make a donation by February 28 and your gift will be doubled!

Thanks to a generous matching donation by our One True Love* Kevin Campbell of the Lochmaddy Foundation, your impact will automatically increase when you make a donation today!

We call our donors Fringe Lovers for a reason—you really are the ones that make it all possible. From putting on an amazing Festival that creates a space for emerging artists and the risks they take, to ensuring we keep theatre accessible for everyone!

Are you always the banker in Monopoly? Do you love the Fringe and independent theatre? Show your love by helping us find a new assistant to the treasurer for the Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society Board.

Our very capable current treasurer, Bob Wang, needs someone to help out and become ready to be the next Fringe Treasurer. As the assistant to the treasurer, you would assist in the preparation of the annual budget, quarterly reports, and generally keeping on top on financial issues and helping keep the Board informed.

If you’re interested in this volunteer opportunity and want more details on the duties and skills required, please contact Board member and Board Affairs Committee member, Jim[dot]Sibley[at]gmail[dot]com.

The Managing Director is responsible for the implementation, day-to-day management, and the smooth operations of the Fringe Festival as well as Theatre Wire. The ideal candidate has administrative and management experience and proven leadership skills. Click here to read the whole posting. The application deadline is February 12, 2018.

The Sponsorship Manager uses sponsor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship techniques to develop sponsorships for the Festival and the year-round Theatre Wire program. The Sponsorship Manager will also assist with Festival-time events and grant research and writing. Click here to read the whole posting. The application deadline is February 18, 2018.

We’ll be posting more positions in the coming months. Be sure to visit our Work With Us page for current postings.

Apply, Party, See More Theatre

January 23, 2018

Reminder! Mainstage Artist Applications due January 26!

Seattle’s Blue Eyes Brown Eyes won a spot in the North American section of the Mainstage Lottery in 2017 and brought The Adventures of Rocketman and Beano to the Festival. Photo by Bruce McPherson.

Applications for the Mainstage Category must be submitted by noon (PST) on Friday, January 26. That’s this Friday! The application fee is $50 and we don’t need to know anything about your show (yet)! That’s because Mainstage shows are selected by lottery! It’s true! We draw names out of a hat! A real hat!

Want to know more? Visit our “For Artists” page on our website and then click on through to Eventotron to register (or login). Eventotron is used by multiple Fringes, so you can apply to multiple Fringes easily (depending on their application dates). Please note that Eventotron will be down for maintenance on Thursday January 25 from 2-6:00am.

Mainstage Category artists will be drawn at the Lottery Party on January 30!

You’re Invited to the Lottery Party: January 30!

Once again, the luck of the draw will decide what shows will be part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival! That’s right, we will choose shows out of a hat (well, a series of hats). Join in on the fun and be the first to know what artists and what shows will be on our Mainstages at the 2018 Festival! Our very own Vixn Przybysz (aka Dispatch Queen) will be MC-ing and we recommend wearing a hat to get in the spirit.

Former Executive Director, David Jordan (right), draws a name out of a hat held by Board Member Leslie Carty (left) at last year’s Lottery Party (it was also a Christmas Party!). Photo by Bruce McPherson.

Where:Studio 1398 (1398 Cartwright St.) on Granville IslandWhen: Tuesday, January 30. Doors open at 5:30pm. This is a casual event and latecomers (even really late latecomers) are welcome. A loose schedule of the evening is as follows: 5:30pm: Doors open 6:00pm: International Artists drawn 6:30pm: North American Artists drawn 7:00pm: Intermission 7:15pm: Playwrights Theatre Centre’s Kathleen Flaherty will tell us about this year’s Fringe New Play Prize Winners, Anais West and Sara Vickruck and their new slam poetry musical Poly Queer Love Ballad. Plus Sara will be in attendance and will perform a song from the show! 7:30pm: Cheer on our local artists as we draw the Local Artists! 8:00pm: Travis Bernhardt will perform a short set of his jaw-dropping magic! Then, stay and mingle!

And if you’re a potential Fringe artist, you’ll want to be in the room! Local artists in attendance who are drawn for a Mainstage Category spot in the Lottery will also be entered to win a guaranteed sandwich board in our sandwich board forest, a guaranteed spot in the Georgia Straight Fringe-For-All, and/or free rehearsal space from Green Thumb Theatre. We’ll also have a contest for artists who cannot attend! Be sure to follow along on Twitter as we live-tweet the Lottery results!

This event is free! Please RSVP to let us know you’re attending. See you at the Party!

What is Theatre Wire?

Just a few of the upcoming Theatre Wire shows you can purchase as single tickets or as a Subscription Package! Clockwise from top left: Fool for Love, Blindside, My Funny Valentine, and Cashless.

The Festival supports emerging artists from around the world as they find audiences, create new work, and take risks, but what are our local, independent, and Fringe artists up to year round? Creating more exciting theatre of course, and Theatre Wire is where you can find shows, buy tickets, and save on subscriptions to see and support theatre all year!

There’s still time to save up to 30% on a subscription, book tickets for your Valentines Day date, or see a show that will chase your winter blues away! (Plus, new shows have recently been added to the Subscription: Fool for Loveand Cashless!) Visit TheatreWire.com to see what’s playing on stages all over the city!

We’re Hiring!

Think you can fit in with our wacky team? The Fringe is hiring! Photo of our 2017 Fringe Team by My City Photos.

The Communications and Outreach Coordinator is a new year-round position supporting our marketing and communications initiatives. The person in this position is also responsible for coordinating outreach and community building with diverse communities. Click here to read the whole posting. Applications are being accepted on an ongoing basis until the right candidate has been found.

The Managing Director is responsible for the implementation, day-to-day management, and the smooth operations of the Fringe Festival as well as Theatre Wire. The ideal candidate has administrative and management experience and proven leadership skills. Click here to read the whole posting. The application deadline is February 12, 2018.

We’ll be posting more positions in the coming months. Be sure to visit our Work With Us page for current postings.